Goaded by ascendant German fans (5)
I believe the answer is:
stung
'goaded' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'ascendant german fans' is the wordplay.
'ascendant' says the letters should be written in reverse (in a down clue, going upwards).
'german' becomes 'g' (abbreviation).
'fans' becomes 'nuts' (both can mean enthusiasts).
'g'+'nuts'='gnuts'
'gnuts' in reverse letter order is 'STUNG'.
'by' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for stung that I've seen before include "Wounded by a bee or wasp" , "conned" , "Offended" , "Punctured eg by wasp" , "Caused sharp pain" .)